1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to computer telephony, and more particularly to providing a communications signaling gateway for advanced service node platforms to handle calls on a telephone network.
2. Related Art
Service node platforms that provide enhanced call services are common in the telecommunications industry. The modern trend is to design and implement modular service nodes that can be placed anywhere throughout a telecommunications network. A common example of a service node is an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) service node. It is common for a business, that is a customer of a telecommunications service provider, to use IVR services in conjunction with call center services. The IVR service nodes are commonly used for customer call center routing. They perform processing of customer applications, based on one or more criteria selected by the customer, such as the dialed number of a call, Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS), Automatic Number Identification (ANI), time of day, caller-entered digits, geographic point of call origin, etc. The IVR service nodes may also perform other IVR services such as automated servicing of callers for customers, caller surveys, telemarketing, and call parking until a call center has an available resource (e.g., a customer service agent).
Conventional IVR service nodes require specialized architectures as customers demand more customized IVR applications. Consequently, different types of IVR service nodes are implemented throughout a telecommunications network to handle different customer""s IVR applications. This results in an inefficient network because a call needing a certain application must be routed to a certain IVR service node irrespective of that node""s current load. Therefore, a next generation of service nodes will be designed to provide customized services for many different customers, all on a common platform.
The next generation of IVR service nodes will be complex computing platforms including extensive software designed to perform a great number of functions. Any modification to the platform as a result of interface changes will require significant time, money and effort. Furthermore, a platform will be offered for sale to different telecommunications carriers. These carriers most likely will utilize different network signaling systems. For example, most carriers in North America use the American National Standards Institute""s (ANSI) Signaling System 7 (SS7), whereas many European carries use the International Telecommunications Union""s (ITU) C7. Different signaling systems may even be employed in the same network. For example, a carrier may use ANSI SS7 signaling for access and inter-exchange switching, while using ISDN Switch Computer Application Interface (SCAI) for automated call distributors (ACD). The SCAI is also an ANSI standard for Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and is well known in the relevant art. To add to the problem, signaling systems undergo periodic updates and new version releases by standards bodies (e.g., ANSI, ITU, etc.). These all require interface modifications to any next generation service node platforms located on a telecommunications network. Therefore, what is needed is a communications signaling gateway to encapsulate multiple communications network signaling systems into a single signaling interface for the advanced IVR service node platforms.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for encapsulating multiple telecommunications network signaling systems into a single signaling interface for use by a next generation service node (NGSN) in a telecommunications network. The method includes interfacing a communications signaling gateway to the telecommunications network and interfacing the NGSN to a signaling gateway. A telecommunication service provider would then define a proprietary signaling protocol (PSP) to communicate with the NGSN platforms deployed in the telecommunications network. The communications signaling gateway receives the network""s signaling messages and translates them into PSP messages. The communications signaling gateway then sends the PSP message to the NGSN. This process works in both directions to encapsulate the NGSN from the network.
An advantage of the present invention is that NGSN platforms may be designed to process a reduced set number of messages that have a common format and that perform fundamental functions common to all signaling systems.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the signaling gateway also performs call and resource management and provides a redundant architecture for performing failover.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that any signaling system implementation variations, as well as detailed functions performed for call setup and resource management, are transparent to the service node. Further features and advantages of the present invention as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.